I Pay for Autumn, I Buy My Winter

It’s September 1.  Considered as the start of the BER-months, this is usually the day I would start getting excited about my purchased autumn or winter season.  Yes people, since I live on a spot where there are only two climate periods in a year, I buy my autumn and winter seasons.

Living and growing up in the Philippines which only has wet & dry seasons, my childhood is deprived of knowing what it’s like during autumn and winter.  And because I live in a climate where it is either hot or hotter, donning on thick coats, a beany and earmuffs would result to some fatal heat stroke.  Instead of owning trendy coats and jackets, me and my friends grew up possessing either a plastic rain coat or the mighty umbrella.

me and my sister love osaka!

And guess what?! During my early childhood days, I thought countries where snow falls are wealthy because that is where Santa Claus lives.  I would often wish that snow would fall in the Philippines so that it can finally get rich and Santa would have easier access getting here!

Now that I am old and my silly childhood wish for a cool autumn and frosty winter in my country will never ever occur, I purchase these seasons for me to personally enjoy and experience.  How do I do my purchase?  I simply apply for an elusive travel visa, book an airline ticket, reserve a cheap hotel and file my treasured vacation leaves so as to journey to a chilly northern or southern hemisphere spot on the planet.

Here’s some of my purchases…

happy at a snow festival in hokkaido!

braved trekking the ihlara valley in turkey during winter! 

my recent purchase! a chilly autumn in st. petersburg, russia

have always been a fan of autumn in koyasan, japan

Yeah! I envy people living on places where the leaves turn bright orange and where fine white snow falls. I guess, folks who say “people long for things and places they do not have” are so correct.  But for those who got yet hate these seasons, you just don’t know how blessed you are!  I so envy you that I even spend heaps of time and money purchasing it!

Seoul’s Autumn Soul

The beauty of autumn continues to fascinate me.  This is especially true this year because I got to spend some cool autumn time in Seoul, South Korea. My recent visit in Seoul can be summed up into three fascinating tenets:  the weather, the wardrobe and the verdure.  These I consider as the souls of my recent Seoul visit.

nice!

nice!

Autumn, is one strange type of season for an earthling like me.  The temperature, the climate and the cool breeze of the air is so atypical.  Growing up in a perennially clammy tropical country like the Philippines, autumn is such a wonderful novelty for me. I’m entranced every time some cloud would come out from my mouth each time I speak!

Aside from the cool weather, I also got to wear sweaters, scarves, gloves and leather jacket which I cannot wear in hot and humid Philippines.  I would be a laughing stock among the locals if I would don some leather jacket in Manila.

Lastly, aside from the weather and the clothes, you got to see some striking colors of bountiful vegetation during autumn.  Nature is so beautiful during this cool season, Koreans even have “Chasing the Autumn Foliage” as a past time.

red colored tree

red colored tree

cool colors

cool colors

bright!

bright!

selfie muna

selfie muna

 

And because it’s autumn, I enjoyed every bit of my stay in soulful Seoul, South Korea! Kamsahamnida!

Owtum! Wagas na tag-lagas!

Holy Koyasan Makes Me Wanna Pray

I would like to believe that I must have done something beautiful in my past life that my present one has been so blessed.  One particular blessing is the opportunity to go and visit the beautiful and mystifying Koyasan, a unique Buddhist town nestled high in the peaks of Mt. Koya in Wakayama, Japan.

But what is so amazing by such a blessing is that I did not only visited this UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the holiest places in Japan once.  I was given by the heavens the generous chance to visit  Koyasan twice.  First was during the springtime of 2014 while the second was this year’s richly colored autumn season.

Selected 2014 Photos

with nengkoy and the gang...

with nengkoy and the gang…

at my back is the massive kongobuji temple

at my back is the massive kongobuji temple

breathtaking...

breathtaking…

feeling blessed...

feeling blessed…

right at the heart of ukunoin

right at the heart of okunoin

Selected 2015 Photos

taglagas...

taglagas…

strike a pose...

strike a pose…

mesmerized by the chanting of these monks...

mesmerized by the chanting of these monks…

hugging a massive tree at okunoin...

hugging a massive tree at okunoin…

same alley, same person, different season

same alley, same person, different season

colors of autumn...

colors of autumn…

What captivates me most about Koyasan is the peaceful aura and zen-like atmosphere it emits.  Visitors will truly feel the positive serenity and explicit spiritual side of Japan.  I am not religious, but each of the visit I did in this holy place made me feel so moved, it makes me wanna pray!

Koyasan is one great travel destination, no way will I hesitate if in this lifetime, I would be given the chance again of visiting this holy place for the third time.

Mapapa-Eymen ka sa ganda!